Well, well, well. It seems that I have some catching up to do! Since my last post, life events have taken a turn for the better. As life does – it often takes all sorts of twists and turns and I am just along for the ride. A lot of life has happened since my last post as well! This will be my attempt to play catch-up and express the gratitude and wonder of some of the small and medium-sized experiences of my recent life. 🙂

Camping Trip at Hyalite Reservoir with the Pulfer Family – July 19-21, 2024
OH, HOW I LOVE HYALITE! This is one of my favorite places to go that’s by Bozeman – but it is near impossible to find campsites there anymore! Tourism has exploded in this area and it can make it difficult for me to go up there lately. You know… as an introverted and curmudgeonly local. So, when I found out that our friend Scott was hawk-eyeing the online reservations for campsites and had found an opening for a group site – we all knew we had to take the opportunity! Overall, despite the amount of mosquitos feasting on us, I think we all had a wonderful time. I slept like absolute garbage in the back of my car with Jonathan, but it was actually roomier than our “two-person” tent would have been. Despite the poor sleep, I’m very grateful we were able to camp together this year. We all brought our paddle boards, played Kubb together, and even had a s’mores buffet by the campfire one night! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the sweet little bats coming out at night to gorge themselves on all of the bugs above where were camping (thank you!!!) and the moon rising over the mountains every night was absolutely gorgeous. We happened to go camping during a full moon, and I don’t think there is anything quite as mysterious and magical as watching a full fun crest over a mountain ridge and view the orangey glow (*ahem* wildfire season smoke…) through a forest of trees. It almost makes me wish I could hear an ominous howl in the far distance… almost.
As I typically do, I would wander a tiny bit away from our campsite in the mornings so that I could admire that beauty around me while sipping my morning coffee: the way the morning light shone onto the forest floor through the trees, the brilliant green of moss and lichen, a red mushroom (!), how the steam from my coffee would gracefully rise into the air, the beauty of a bird’s wings I came across that had died, the fresh smells of pine and forest in the crisp morning air, and the absolute symphony that is morning bird song. It was an excellent respite from the heat happening in the valley for the past couple of weeks (90+ degree days)- I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to need a jacket in the mornings! I tend to wilt a bit after the temperature is above 78 degrees. It seems I tend to thrive in more temperate environments!

Afternoon and Early Morning Walks – July 23 and 26
For anyone who has watched the movie “Pride & Prejudice” (the one from 2001), I am much like Elizabeth’s character in the way that I dearly love to go out for long walks by myself. (That movie was actually one of my favorites for many years when I was an older teenager and it was also one of my “comfort” movies for a while. I don’t even know how many times I watched it!) One of the primary ways I show self-care and cope with difficult stressors is to go out for long walks. I’ve started a new habit for myself this month by trying to get up early (around 6:35am) and go for an early morning walk while the weather is still cool. I don’t go for a walk every day, but I’m finding that it is a fabulous way to start my day well. I’ll often listen to meditations from Insight Timer when I am on these walks and I’ll admire (once again) how the morning sun radiantly shines through the tree’s leaves, the differing grasses, and making the dew drops gathered on the plants truly shine. I have a particular love of walking near creeks, and I am very lucky that I live pretty close to one that is my morning trail route (about 4ish miles roundtrip to get back to my house). I’m including pictures from some of my walks because these are pockets of time that I am able to reflect, introspect, feel peace, and de-stress – no matter the time of day. These are moments when I truly do experience wonder at all of the small miracles of life and creativity around me (have you ever noticed all of the beautiful shapes and edges of leaves and flower petals?). My walks are made even better when it’s berry foraging season! Oh, the abundance that is late summer. I was able to have tiny trail snacks of wild raspberries and service berries during an afternoon walk at a trail close to my office when I had a 3-hour gap in my work day last week. Another picture is of the trail close to my home that I’ll walk in the mornings.

Foraging with Lisa – July 28
Last, but certainly not least, was going foraging for service berries (otherwise known as Saskatoon berries – particularly in Canada) with my friend, Lisa. There is an especially simple pleasure of going foraging with friends that feels almost ancient. It hits a certain spot in my heart that can be lost in modern day living – knowing the gifts and abundance that surround us without pillaging them. I was make sure to purposely drop berries while I’m picking them in hopes that some of the seeds are able to take root in the future. I also make sure to never completely pick any bush, tree, or plant – it’s important ethics to leave a decent amount for the wildlife. Anyway, I felt very grateful for my time with my friend. In all honesty, it’s not crossed my mind to make anything with service berries since they are a pretty humble berry without a huge amount of flavor and they are rather seedy (still tasty though when you get a nice juicy one!). I ended up making a berry crumble this morning with the 3 cups of services berries I’d foraged. I even munched on this little treat while writing this blog post. 🙂

I feel grateful for…

• … the abundance within nature/outside my doorstep.
• … foraging knowledge and friendship.
• … tasty sweet treats.
• … camping with friends.
• … being out on the water in the mountains.
• … the beauty of sun shining on dew drops in the morning.
• … the smell of butter and sugar baking in an oven.
• … being able to hear birdsong in the mornings.
• … the sound of babbling creeks.
• … the fresh smell of a mountain forest.